


A Trip to the Mall (And Other Adventures of Wei Wuxian in the Michigan Fleet)

by OtherCat



Series: Cracked Crossovers [9]
Category: After the Storm - Hannah Birchwood & Key Dyson & Raymond Roach, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dark Past, Fluff, M/M, Past Abuse, The Wens are all genetically engineered soldiers, Yes even Wen Yuan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25739860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtherCat/pseuds/OtherCat
Summary: In which Wei Ying rescues experimental soldier mods created by the liquidated Wen Corporation (before they could be liquidated) and flees to the Americas and the Michigan Fleet. Can he make a life for himself and his new family? (Probably) Can he survive prosocial edutainment and therapy? (Maybe.) Can he figure out the Fleet dating scene? (Also maybe, because Our Boy is oblivious.)
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Series: Cracked Crossovers [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/64490
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	A Trip to the Mall (And Other Adventures of Wei Wuxian in the Michigan Fleet)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wei Ying makes a new friend and learns the importance of following safety precautions. Wen Yuan asks an adult for help! How many words starting with "W" can you think of?

Wei Ying has been living with Wen Qing, her brother and their little cousin Yuan. It’s been a month since their arrival as refugees to the Michigan Fleet. It’s been three months since they’d escaped the Wen Corporation facility where Qing and her family had been designed. When the Wen Corporation had liquidated, the experimental soldier mod prototypes had almost been liquidated along with the corporation. Only some quick thinking on the part of Wei Ying and some very surprising wheeling and and dealing on the part of Wei Ying’s big sister had saved them (or more accurately, allowed them to escape).

Wei Ying and the Wens had crossed two continents, an ocean, and half of another continent before they landed at the Michigan Fleet. (A place that Wei Ying still wasn’t entirely convinced was real. A city made out of ships in the middle of an immense lake seemed like something out of a children’s television program, and Wei Ying knew exactly why now. Or rather, he knew now that the Michigan Fleet was a real place and not a made up one from a children’s educational program from the Americas.)

They’re given family quarters on a multifamily residential ship called _The Sandy Button_. They’re still working their way through hours and hours of “prosocial education,” that takes the form of watching a children’s program (that he’d seen when he was a kid) answering questions and talking to counsellors and their social worker.

Wen Qing has been barrelling her way through qualifications to become a medic, Ning got a job on a restaurant boat while taking psychology classes. Baby Yuan still has nightmares about the labs and the trip, but he’s recovering. Wei Ying has a job waiting for him: an “internship” working with another bio-engineer that’s mostly just a drawn out assessment period, from what the social worker says, but that’s a couple weeks away.

Wei Ying is half asleep with Yuan in his lap. Yuan's singing along with Nanna Dog the Librarian as she teaches a lesson about keeping things organized and neat. Wei Ying wants to object to this on grounds of dog, and also, he already had to watch several episodes that are thinly veiled and not so thinly veiled discussions of ptsd and trauma. And also dog. (Even if it's actually a puppet.) Sadly, Yuan's piping voice and tendency to actually answer questions the puppet asks out loud is adorable, so he's trapped.

He also falls asleep, only to be woken up by Wen Qing, who's nudging him. "You need to get out," she says.

Wei Ying gives her a look of exaggerated hurt. "After all we've been too each other, Miss Wen?" He nudges Yuan, who's also fallen asleep. "Yuan, big sister is throwing me out!"

"Noooo," Yuan says sleepily, and clings like a limpet.

"Drama queen," Qing says with a snort. "You've been mostly hanging out on the couch since we got here. The neighbors have been politely wondering what's wrong with you that you don't come out of our quarters ever."

"So that means you're kicking me out?" Wei Ying asks, pouting.

"Just temporarily," Qing says. "I've uploaded a shopping list. Take Yuan with you."

Wei Ying whines about it, but his protests lack force. A trip to the Mall might help him shake off the fog that had been hanging around him since they'd reached safety. (Travelling cross country, travelling through countries, bribing and lying and praying no one saw under the Wens' makeup and realized they were looking at experimental gene mods. He'd been on a hyper alert adrenaline rush and this was the crash.) Also, his very friendly social worker had been gently and smilingly encouraging him to be more social. (Completely if politely ignoring the completely valid excuse of being Wen Yuan’s caretaker since Qing and Ning were so busy.)

He gets dressed in the Local Costume of sarong, sandals and a t shirt (his says in binary, "if you can read this you know binary"), gets Yuan dressed and takes one of the deck hoppers from the _Sandy Button_ out to the Mall. The Mall was a huge former tanker that had been repurposed as a trade center for not only the fleet, but also most of the American Midwest. It was permanently anchored about a mile from shore and acted as a buffer between the Fleet and the cities surrounding Lake Michigan.

Yuan is of course immediately drawn to the toy and food stalls. Wei Ying gets him bacon on a stick as they sightsee their way to the clothes and second hand vendors. He's working his way through the shopping list when he realizes Yuan is missing.

"The little boy who was with me, did you see where he went?!" Wei Ying asked frantically.

"Could've sworn he was here a minute ago!" a vendor says. "Should've had him in harness." The vendor tsks.

"I'll keep that in mind," Wei Ying says while trying really hard not to think of Wen Ning walking with the chains that had been used to restrain him dragging behind. (Wei Ying fails to not think about Wen Ning and the empty look on his face. He and Wen Qing thought they’d lost him forever…) Logically he knew that a harness wouldn’t be the same as restraints, as chains, but some part of his brain wouldn’t let the idea go. On the other hand he'd seen a really cute backpack harness with Wilimina Wolf, a character that mostly showed up in Family Fleet to talk about nature, weather and ship safety, and Wen Yuan would look adorable.

"If he's wearing data rings or a tracker it shouldn't be any problem for the Mall to track him," the vendor says reassuringly.

Asking the Mall to track Yuan turns out not to be necessary, though Wei Ying almost needs a medic. Yuan is back at the toy vendors, bothering what looks to be Security in an off duty Security shirt and a sarong with a print of bunnies. The officer is a cute guy with a solemn appearance (despite the bunnies). He has Yuan balanced on his hip and appears to be listening intently to whatever it is Yuan is saying. "I'm so sorry, officer," Wei Ying says, running over. "He wandered off."

"If you or your caregiver is lost, you should find Security," Yuan recites from _Family Fleet_. The Security officer nods approvingly.

Wei Ying isn't so sure about that. "Even if they're off-duty?" 

"I am not off-duty in the case of a lost caregiver," the officer says with a faint smile as he sets Yuan down. The kid immediately latches onto Wei Ying.

"Excuse me? I'm not the one who wandered off!" Wei Ying says in mock offense to Yuan. “If anyone was lost, it was you!” Yuan just giggles at him.

"He should have a harness," the officer says. "If it were rainy or windy there would have been a fine."

Wei Ying just barely manages to avoid snapping a childish, _well it wasn't_. This is partly because the officer was so quietly genuine about it. It was also partly because if he got in trouble with the police, Wen Qing would probably--no, _definitely_ \--kill him. She could rip him into little pieces and flush him down the composting toilet. Wen Ning would be sad about it, but he’d help. "I promise it'll be the next thing I buy." To be friendly, he says, "How about I treat you to lunch, officer?"

"Zhan Lan," the officer says.

"Wei Ying, or I guess Ying Wei now," Wei Ying says. And because he can't help himself, and Zhan hadn't said anything one way or another, "so, lunch?"

There was another faint smile. "You said the harness would be the next thing you bought."

"Want to make sure I follow through?" Wei Ying asks in mock offense. "Or is it just the right order?"

"Yes," Zhan says.

Wei Ying heads to the nearest children's clothing shop, giving a highly edited story of asylum seeking and immigration. He ends up carrying most of the conversation. Zhan seems quiet, not a talker, the kind of guy who's better at listening than talking.

They go to lunch in one of the small diners on board the Mall. It's a bright airy place with a good view and lots of rowdy gulls vying for scraps. Yuan gets chicken nuggets pressed into dinosaur shapes and sweet potato fries and fruit punch. (He immediately starts making the dinosaurs fight.) Zhan gets a tempura plate sampler and green tea. Wei Ying gets a burger, onion rings, and without thinking about it, a beer. Zhan says nothing, but Wei Ying could almost feel the weight of disapproval. "Just one won't hurt," Wei Ying says. "It won't even set off the alcohol detector on the deck hopper."

"Hmn."

The drinks arrive first of course, and Wei Ying starts to take a drink. Zhan immediately reaches out, stopping him. Wei Ying can't help the slight flinch. "Is there a problem officer?" Wei Ying asks. He tries for humor but misses.

"The lake must first be given her due," the security officer says, disapproving.

"What?"

"Pour some of the beer over the side," Zhan said patiently.

"For the lake," Wei Ying said blankly.

"The lake is thirsty?" Yuan asks, brow furrowed.

"It's a custom, to pay respect to the lake," Zhan explains. "Food dropped into the lake must not be retrieved, it belongs to the lake, and one must pour a drink for the lake before drinking yourself."

Yuan frowns at his punch, looking worried. "I don't want lake-jie to be mad at me," he decides, and before Wei Ying can stop him, he tries to toss the contents of his glass into the water. Unfortunately, the glass goes into the water along with the punch.

"Yuan!" Wei says in exasperation. He feels instantly terrible about the way the little boy freezes. At the same time, he feels a spike of anxiety about the cup, stupidly out of proportion to the accident.

"No harm was done," Zhan says.

"Harm!? You're security, Fleet littering fines are ruinous and we're still under probation!" Wei Ying was absolutely not panicking.

"An accident," Zhan says. "Is hardly littering. You are fine."

"Thanks I know," Wei Ying says, and immediately regrets everything. He unthinkingly starts to take a drink, only to be stopped once more by Zhan's hand on his arm. "Seriously?!"

Zhan just stares at him.

Wei Ying sighs, makes absolutely no comments about quaint folk religions (North America also having everything from radiation worshipping death cults to gene mods who thought they were literally gods to ancient web comic characters and saints invented by fantasy authors) and pours some his beer out. "There. Happy?"

Zhan nods. "Mn. May she rest easy."

“May she rest easy,” Wei Ying repeats.

Zhan Lan has an uncle who’s also in Security, a social worker for a brother, and a rabbit named Fiver. He’s been assigned as Security on the Mall post the uprooting of some kind of criminal ring. He’s cute and earnest and solemn. Wei Ying would be inclined to tease someone so cute and solemn except Security and he has heard weird things about Fleet Security (and the stuff that’s true is _very_ weird) so he manages (with mighty self-control) to avoid getting himself into trouble.

(Except for the part where Wei Ying asks for contact information without even thinking about it. Shit. And they exchange contact information. So much shit.)

When they get back to the Sandy Button Wen Yuan is full of stories about his adventures and Wei Ying getting lost. “But I knew you had to ask a Security for help so I did, and we found uncle Ying!” Yuan says.

“Did you now?” Wen Ning asks, looking amused.

“It was very nice of the officer to help you find uncle Ying,” Qing says in a voice that’s a lot less amused. “We wouldn’t want him to get lost!”

“The security officer would help find him,” Yuan says.

“I looked away for a minute and whoosh Yuan was gone,” Wei Ying says. “Zhan made me get a harness.”

“Zhan?” Ning asks.

“Lan Zhan—Zhan Lan, the security officer. He was off duty, but was really helpful, so I treated him to lunch.”

“How cute was he?” Wen Qing asks.

“How cute he was had nothing to do with asking him to lunch,” Wei Ying says, a little indignantly. “Anyway it’s not like I could date him.”

“Why not?” Ning asks.

“You _know_ why,” Wei Ying says. “They have that weird cult thing. They chemically—you know.” Fleet Security took medication that basically prevented them from having a libido. Also from what he’d heard, some kind of low key brain washing was involved in their training. Security did not have sex because sex could lead to power imbalances and abuse. So medication and brain washing to ensure it didn’t--or was less likely--to happen. “So, no dating.” 

“No dating,” Wen Yuan says. “What’s a weird cult thing?”

“Not dating,” Wei Ying says. Wen Qing smacks him, and he figures he deserves it.

**Author's Note:**

> Note the First: The Wens are all genetically engineered "soldier mods." Basically they all look like Wen Ning post fierce corpsification. They would not be the strangest or most terrifying looking soldier mod strain. 
> 
> Note the Second: Lan Zhan is Chinese-American in this one. Hence the way I switch the first and last names. 
> 
> Note the Third: Wei Ying possibly does not understand how you can have a relationship or be in love without a libido. 
> 
> Note the Fourth: After the Storm is shiny and brilliant and you get it on Amazon or you can read the free version with arts [here.](https://www.wattpad.com/story/213099434-after-the-storm)


End file.
